The Kestrel 24′ Tiny Home on Wheels

Highlights

24 ft. long

Full-size bathtub

Storage

Windows built for views

Custom floor plan

THOW

Quote

A main priority for this client was a bathtub with a view, which we brought to reality by building a fully tiled wet area around a comfortable bathtub surrounded by huge windows so you can relax in style. Tile floor compliments the custom vanity and sink topped with beautiful granite countertop.1

Resources

If you want you can easily share this tiny house story/link with your friends and family for free using the easy e-mail and social media re-share buttons below. Thank you!

If you enjoyed this you’ll absolutely LOVE our Free Daily Tiny House Newsletter with even more! You’ll get all of our best small and tiny houses in your email plus we give you access to FREE tiny house plans you can print and more (FREE) just for joining!

Alex

Alex is a contributor and editor for TinyHouseTalk.com and the always free Tiny House Newsletter. He has a passion for exploring and sharing tiny homes (from yurts and RVs to tiny cabins and cottages) and inspiring simple living stories. We invite you to send in your story and tiny home photos too so we can re-share and inspire others towards a simple life too. Thank you!

Related

Much to like in this one. Seems very spacious for the size and well laid out. Full bath is nice but shower and move the laundry in would be my change there. Kitchen double sink is nice, and room for an oven under the range. Again though, no hand rail on the stairs is a huge mistake. Why do so many THOW builders fail this basic need ? That grab bar at the top ? Nice emphasis on the lack of a proper hand rail and next to useless. At least the loft looks usable and has a nice operable skylight for an emergency exit. No real dining area ? And not much of a living room either. I’d probably change the whole front from that small built in bench and shelves to simply an open area with a table and chairs. I do like the finish style and attention to detail, no glaring misses there and shows design knowledge.

Heh… wait a minute. How did I miss that ? And what is it ? That big orange blister on the ceiling at the front with the yellow caution tape ? Hole for a wood stove ? Smoke detector ? Or ??? Can’t be unseen now and really ugly as is lol.

Hey there! Thanks for your feedback. As with all of our homes, every aspect is custom designed for the client, and if they don’t want a railing on the stairs then no railing on the stairs. It is of course always an option that we present to our clients, as is a railing along the loft’s edge. There was no need for extensive dining space in this area as the client enjoys eating on the couch. And yes, the big ugly orange blister is the plastic cover for the smoke detector, which is removed upon delivery 🙂

And thank you for the quick reply and clarifications Jessica ! I was sure the blister had to be something like that. Glad to hear you do suggest a railing. Maybe most TH builders do and it’s a client decision to leave out, but I see so many without them (rarely with) and really can’t understand the lack. In some cases builders and designers have an obligation to be more insistent on some aspects of their products, especially when it comes to safety, even vetoing customer demands when needed. Well, imo and construction experience anyway.

To an extent but keep in mind even if you override nothing stops the client from removing them once they move in… You can’t really save people from themselves if they refuse to be helped and as custom products the client’s wishes usually override other considerations as otherwise they’ll just take the work to someone who will do it for them…

There’s also a limit to how much you can focus on just one variable in how something is designed… There’s nothing that’s going to be 100% safe all the time, risk is a matter of what’s considered acceptable and that’s often determined by the person who will ultimately have to live with and accept those risks…

A railing is ultimately just a basic safety measure but it doesn’t ensure safety. If you’re not holding it or fail to grab it in time then you can still fall… You can also still slip and the rail won’t really help you when you’re falling backwards as by the time you can grab it you’re usually already hitting the ground or you’ll just end up twisting to your side, which can induce more damage than falling on your back as you’re focusing your full weight on a small area of your body…

Rails are also typically designed for full size staircases, but you’re not going to find those in most Tiny Houses… So there’s even added risk when you have something sticking out the side of the walls that’s forcing you to lean closer to the fall off ledge side of the stairs… at least for those really narrow stairs that may be even less than two feet wide or the client is simply too wide for that to be really safe…

While there are alternatives to rails, you can mold a hand hold slot into the wall… You can create a enclosed path stairs that you can then push against either side to at least slow yourself if you trip or fall… you can use a guide rope that can stay flush with the wall most of the time but can still be grabbed when needed… You can create hand holds along the path, useful in case you have things in the way like cabinets, etc.

Some spiral stairs can use part of the stairs as hand holds on the way up and down, along with the central pole…

So there are other ways to add layers of safety and not all of them would necessarily be apparent until you’re actually using them… But people also have to be able to use them comfortably otherwise they’ll just refuse to use them… But that gives you some idea how hard it can be for designers to design something for other people but creativity can help as long as you’re willing to think outside of the box every now and then…

Hey Jessica, one additional thing you may want to consider suggesting to your clients with similar floor plans is not placing the loft all the way against the back wall unless they intend to have a window there…

Even a foot forward means you have room to mount the bathroom vent in the ceiling, directly over the bathtub/shower and you’ll have a wider range of vent options that’ll work with that arrangement…

While the rest of that space can be used to create a closet or other storage for the loft…

The design also allows you options like enclosed showers as well and can provide better moisture control…

The stairs are better if you don’t go all the way up and rather leave a standing platform most of the way up that will make it easier to get in and out of the loft without needing to balance and allows for a shorter run of stairs so they don’t need to be a steep… and this also lets you bring the loft forward without needing to move the stairs closer to the door…

Btw, nice touch with the ornate features… Is that horse head a door stop or does it move with the door?

It’s aesthetically pleasing, very bright and airy with lots of storage space. Love the built-ins next to the couch. However, it seems impractical in that it has this huge kitchen space with no oven and no dining table/area. Also no desk/work space. There’s a great tub, but no medicine cabinet or mirror, a small vanity, and not even a towel rack in the bathroom. There is also no real seating space for guests except the stairs. Why do the couch cushions go only slightly more than halfway across the couch?

Of course, some or all of these things that I would consider necessities for a living space may be hidden away somewhere, but there was no indication of that. You could always add them later, I guess, but there isn’t much space left.

It reminds me of an apartment I once lived in that had a newly renovated kitchen that looked beautiful in the advertising photos but was awful to actually cook in. Overall, it strikes me as something like a spike heeled shoe: very pretty, but impractical and uncomfortable.

Gina, some things aren’t in yet like a wood stove, you can see the temporary roof plug near the ceiling fan… A lot of these are just the builders showing them off before they get shipped to the client who will then put any finishing touches and of course move in… So it’s rarely how it will finally appear once the owner moves in as things like furniture and even parts of the house may not be there until the client gets it…

Like some people will install their own oven or fridge, etc.

But the layout is according to what their client wanted, she’s going to be living by herself with no plans for guests, they said she prefers just eating on the couch and we can assume she doesn’t use a oven, and much of the design is because that’s the way she wanted it…

Just keep in mind this is a custom product that was customized to how one person wanted it… If you order from them you’re free to have it customized how you want it instead, that’s the nature of these products… They’re not one size fits all but what each individual owner wants…

Thanks James – you hit the nail on the head! The hardest thing about client builds is that they are exactly that – client builds. Everyone has different lifestyles and goals, and our priority as a company is to build each individual a custom home that fits their life perfectly. It may not fit everyone, but it fits the person who bought it like a glove because every aspect was designed for them. Thanks again for your comment 🙂

Hi Gina, thanks for your thoughtful feedback! As James said below, everything we do is custom, and while we do semi-stage the homes for photos, there are many items to be added by the client afterwards. The couch cushions are a prime example of this. The client is having custom cushions made for this couch, but for the sake of our photos we used some of our staging cushions from other builds. No, they don’t fit exactly, but it does help to at least show the intention of cushions instead of an empty wooden bench seat. The client doesn’t cook much and did not want an oven or dining area, and entertaining space was not a priority. Finishing items such as towel racks, mirrors, shelves, etc are usually added by the client, as people like to decorate their own homes and put their own finishing touches on. Sometimes we do get clients who want the whole nine yards, which of course we are happy to oblige! If you have any other questions don’t hesitate to ask 🙂

Hi Becky, thanks for your comments! The bottom step houses a propane forced air heating system for the house. It’s a great option if you don’t want to take up any wall space or floor space, and it heats the place like nobody’s business!

Hey there! Thanks for your feedback. A pull out bed would be a great choice in this space. You can see under the stairs there is an empty open space – there is actually a combo washer/dryer going in there. It just didn’t arrive in time for the photo shoot; however we will be doing another photo shoot once the client is all moved in so you’ll be able to see the washer/dryer in place.

Just a question… in our state it is illegal to have a window, even plexiglas, so close to a tub. I even had to remove one in an existing house to get a mortgage ; ) Any thoughts? Also the wood stove and roofing would have to meet code. Have you had any issues?

Hi Renee, thanks for your questions! We follow all building codes and safety regulations. The windows in the bathroom are safety glass, which is a standard requirement here for windows in bathrooms/near tubs, in lofts, and near doors or within a certain distance to the ground. There is not a woodstove in this home (the plastic red thing on the ceiling is the cover for the smoke/CO2 detector to keep it “new” until the client receives it), but when we do install woodstoves we install only CSA and mobile certified homes so they are 100% insurable and up to code. Our roofing is tin roofing and again, meets all required codes. If you have any other questions let me know 🙂